This invention relates to a rotatively reciprocating vane internal combustion engine having few moving parts, high efficiency, and a low weight-to-power ratio.
In an age of environmental concerns and waning natural resources, a lightweight, highly efficient, low fuel consumption engine has been vigorously sought.
In the past, attempts have been made to improve on reciprocating piston engines but their inherent complexity and high weight-to-power ratio has proven limiting. Also rotary or Wankel design engines have become relatively highly developed, they still exhibit daunting problems in rotor sealing and cost parameters. For example, the Wankel engine is difficult to manufacture, it has a short life, it has a problem of loosing its lubrication and seizing up. It has poor gas mileage, high oil consumption and high exhaust level. For every three turns of the working piston there is only one rotation of the main power output shaft which results in an excessive friction inside the working chamber between the piston and the casing.
Some attempts have been made to provide rotary vane engines, which abate some of the aforementioned problems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,599,976 to Meuret discloses the utilization of spherically shaped chamber and accordingly shaped vanes, which are used to sequentially compress and expand a combustive mixture. It should be noted, however, that the patented system has the following disadvantages.
In Meuret patent the ratio between the volume of the chamber and the diameter of the vanes is constant. If the volume of the sphere chamber changes it automatically and proportionally changes the radius of the vanes. In a cylindrical chamber the volume of the chamber can be changed either by simply changing the length of the cylinder or by changing the radius of the cylinder. In each case there is going to be a different output even thought the volume is the same. A cylindrical engine is much easier to manufacture and seal, and to open and repair.
Another example of a prior art attempt to overcome some of the disadvantages of existing engines is the U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,532 to Tan, which teaches an extremely complex swinging piston internal combustion engine. While Tan has made certain admirable advantages, his device suffers from the following disadvantages.
The Tan engine is big and bulky. There is no power-to-weight ratio advantage over the conventional engine. It would be difficult to manufacture and repair it. It would be difficult to balance it and it would only work as a diesel engine.
A further example of a prior art attempt is the U.S. Pat. No. 1,346,805 issued to Barber. Barber discloses a rotatably reciprocating vane internal combustion engine comprising: a water jacketed, double-walled cylindrical casing allowing for cooling fluid to pass through it; the casing equipped with longitudinally extending walls affixed to it; vanes affixed to a shaft rotatably alternating in back and forth fashion; the shaft mounted upon double-walled end plates; four working chambers inside the casing, each chamber experiencing an intake, a compression, an ignition-expanding and lastly an exhaust cycle; four sets of ports, each set for intake of combustible fluid and exhaust thereafter; and four ignition means, one for each chamber.
However, Barber engine is a four stroke engine only. Barber fails to disclose ports for intake of combustible fluid and lubricating oil, seal strips and external valving means with an appropriate cam shaft.
Unlike the prior art systems, the present invention provides essentially only one moving element, its rotably reciprocating vane piston. Because of pressure balancing on opposite sides of the vane members they may be constructed of lightweight material and the need for heavy bearing and counter-balancing means are virtually eliminated.
The invention is capable of running on multiple types of conventionally available fuel and may conceivably be operated on four chamber two stroke cycles, two chamber two stroke cycles, one chamber two stroke cycles, or diesel cycles.